


epiphany is such a cliché

by inkk



Series: alphabet AU challenge [6]
Category: Bandom, Halsey (Musician), Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Begging, Bisexual Character, D/s elements, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, One Shot, these tags make me cringe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-05
Updated: 2015-09-05
Packaged: 2018-04-19 05:13:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4733963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkk/pseuds/inkk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><b>F</b> is for <b>Friends With Benefits</b>.</p><p>(In which it's not about a relationship, until all of a sudden it is.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	epiphany is such a cliché

**Author's Note:**

> ok so this story contains a little bit of (fairly non-graphic) sex. in case u totally just didn't see the tags or warning at all.
> 
> story title comes from the song 'Everybody Wants Somebody' by Patrick Stump (so creative, i know).
> 
> enjoy! :)

+

Ashley isn't looking for a relationship.

Josh isn't, either. That isn't what this is about.

This is about basic human instinct and needing to be touched; it's about wanting intimacy in a controlled environment without a cumbersome trail of feelings in the way. It's fun, it's clean-cut, and most of all, it's absolutely no-strings attached. That's all.

Ashley carefully chooses not to examine the reason it hurts so much every time he leaves.

 

\+ + +

 

"Oh my _god_ ," Josh gasps up at the cracked motel room ceiling.

Ashley grins wickedly down at him, bracing her hands on the shiny, sweat-slick skin of his chest. She loves this part; the way she's perfectly in control, able to take him apart and see all of his pieces with just a teasing roll of her hips. The power is downright intoxicating.

"Fuck," he groans, eyes sliding closed as he bites his lip and clutches at her hips. "Oh god, I'm so close, c'mon, just like that."

Ashley leans forward to mouth at his jaw. "Hands on the headboard," she commands, venomously scraping her nails down his stomach and eliciting a breathy, desperate-sounding moan as he obeys. "Don't fucking come until I give you permission."

"Oh, fuck," he curses, knuckles white against the wood of the headboard. "C'mon, c'mon--"

Ashley stills her hips out of spite. "Don't you dare tell me what to do," she hisses, breathing heavily. "I'm in control. You're mine right now."

"Yeah, yes, I'm yours, please just _move_ \--"

Triumphant, she leans forward to gently brush sweaty hair out of his face and whisper in his ear. "I want you to beg for it."

Josh makes a rough, inarticulate sound, chest heaving beneath her palms. "Oh god, Ash, please move, please, need you so much, _please_ \--"

Satisfied, Ashley starts to move again, rocking up and down in a steady rhythm as he pants below her.

"Good boy," she praises him, "Such a good little drummer boy for me, aren't you?"

"Yeah," he nods frantically, pupils blown wide, "Oh, fuck, yes please--"

 _Bingo_. She grins and clenches around him, speeding up. "You're doing such a good job, baby, you feel so good," she sighs, "Almost there. You can touch me now, come on, baby, make me come first."

Obediently, his hands release the headboard, settling on her waist and sliding up her ribcage to cup her breasts. "Please," he whispers, thumbs gently running across her hardened nipples. "Please, keep going, need to come so bad, gotta make you come--"

"So close, bear, just a little more," Ashley inhales sharply, feeling the familiar, white-hot curl of pleasure swirling through the pit of her belly and guiding one of Josh's hands down to her clit. "Ohh, god," she gasps, trembling and speeding up as she comes, "Oh god, so good, baby, so good, wanna watch you come--"

Beneath her, it only takes a few more moments before Josh arches his head back and stills, then goes absolutely limp. "Holy shit," he says after a moment. "Wow."

Ashley slides off and flops bonelessly to the bed beside him, a sated grin on her face as she catches her breath. "You're welcome."

"Mind if I use your shower?" he asks, sitting up and turning his head to face her. She simply makes a vague grunt of consent.

He comes out of the bathroom fully dressed about ten minutes later, smiling and waving before leaving - presumably to go hang out with Tyler or something.

Once the motel room door closes behind him, Ashley rolls over, pulling the sheets closer to her bare skin and halfheartedly pretending she's just tired.

Everything is perfectly fine.

 

(She tells herself it's a good system.)

 

\+ + +

 

Things aren't awkward the next time they see each other. They never are.

Ashley almost wishes they were; at least it would give her a reasonable explanation to call the whole thing off. Something better than "I thought this was a good idea at first but now I like you too much and your smile makes my chest hurt", at least.

She doesn't say anything about it, though - they continue to hang out and watch TV and fuck and play stupid card games together just the same as they always have. 

And yet somewhere along the way, she manages to fall a little bit stupidly in love.

 

\+ + +

 

They're about five months in when the confrontation finally happens.

Surprisingly, it ends up being Josh who approaches her and not the other way around; he knocks on her motel room door one evening and says, "Hey. Can we talk?"

Ashley doesn't really remember exactly what he said, but it was something along the lines of "The sex thing isn't going to work out for me. I'm sorry."

She tells him _it's fine_. And it is. 

Just another chapter of her life, just another poor decision, just another foolproof plan that fell apart.

 

It's okay, though.

 

Once the motel room door closes behind him, Ashley gets into bed, pulls the sheets over her head and lets herself cry.

 

_It's for the best._

 

\+ + +

 

Ashley isn't looking for a relationship, but this time she knows what it's about.

(Clubs and bars, mesmerizing neon signs, pretty girls and slutty boys, one-night stands, street lights and - finally - _control_.)

 

She still thinks Josh's laugh will probably always be her favourite sound.

 

\+ + +

 

This time, Josh _knows_ he's looking for a relationship.

He's just not sure where to start.

Every girl he sees just all of a sudden looks out of place; too tall and too serious and too skinny and not colourful enough and never, ever Ashley enough to actually capture his attention.

Josh miserably wonders exactly why the fuck they even started having sex in the first place, until he remembers just how tipsy and bored and horny he was and how funny and powerful and gorgeous she was. 

Things are never awkward between them. But they aren't the exact same, either.

It's as if an invisible line has been drawn in wet sand between them: he can still have rambling, hour-long conversations with her, they can still go for late-night Taco Bell runs and he can still make her laugh.

But more often than not, he finds himself lonely and sad and missing the way her smaller body fits curled into his side. He misses being able to touch her breasts, and the way she let him run his fingers through her hair in the afterglow. 

He misses the way she could take him out of his mind.

He misses _her_.

 

\+ + +

 

"We're friends, right?" Ashley asks one night as they're sitting pressed together on the couch watching _Pocahontas_.

Josh looks over at her and nods. "Best friends."

"Good," she sighs. There's a long and pregnant pause. "I'm lonely," she admits after a little while, the words quiet and muffled against his shoulder.

Josh swallows. "Yeah, me too."

"Do you think--?" Ashley starts to ask, then cuts herself off with another sigh and fiddles with the hem of his t-shirt. Onscreen, the raccoon braids Pocahontas' hair.

"What?" Josh gently nudges her. "Do I think what?"

She fidgets. "I mean, we're friends, right? And we had sex and it was great."

"Yeah," Josh says slowly. "It was. And...?"

"I don't know. I feel like--..." She exhales heavily. "We had all the supplies for a relationship other than actually going on dates, except neither of us wanted to be dating anyone but now we do."

Josh looks puzzled. "What? What are you saying?"

"I'm _saying_ ," Ashley rolls her eyes, "That maybe we could try friends-with-benefits plus dating."

"So, you mean... a regular relationship?" Josh grins.

Ashley shrugs and laughs. "If you want to dumb it down, I guess."

"I think maybe we could try it."

 

+

**Author's Note:**

> ((Halsey appreciation squad 2kForever, amirite or amirite??))  
> kudos are he greatest thing ever, and please let me know what you thought!


End file.
